Friday, September 30, 2016

Welcome to Elaine Roberts and the first in her new monthly series ‘Festivals and
Workshops’.

This month I have interviewed
Geraldine D’Amico, Spoken Word Curator, from the Folkestone Book Festival.Welcome to the RNA blog, Geraldine. Can you tell us something about your
festival, how it came about and how long it’s been running?

The festival has been running
for more than 50 years in different locations. It took a

Victoria Hislop

new life when it moved
to the Quarterhouse, under the auspices of the Creative Foundation, and is now
part of the regeneration project to make Folkestone a better place to live,
create and engage with other creative people.

It takes place at the end of
November, the darkest time of year, but is a beacon of light, the place to
gather round the metaphorical fire and exchange stories, be enlightened, make
new friends and celebrate community spirit. It symbolically starts with our
opening-night speaker switching on the Christmas Lights, this year Jonathan
Coe.

As our blog is for writers can you tell me how your festival would benefit
our members?

I think they would enjoy
attending the talks, especially by such wonderful writers as Margaret Drabble,
Rose Tremain, Victoria Hislop, Shappi Khorsandi and Alison Weir who are all
expert speakers on their writing.

Is there anything to enter (maybe a writing competition), if so could
details be provided?

Yes, there are quite a few
competitions to enter: http://www.folkestonebookfest.com/parallel-events/

How about staying over for the whole event. Where can people stay?

Finding a place to stay in
Folkestone is not a problem. It is a lovely town and there is a lot to see
beyond attending the festival such as the artworks from the previous three
Triennals along the Leas, the Harbour Arm or along the seaside and there are
many

Kristin Hersh

lovely, quirky and orginal shops to visit on the Old High Street and
fantastic cafés where to sit and write or just enjoy life.

What does it cost to attend?

Tickets are not very expensive
compared to other festivals (£7 to £12) and the more you buy, the less you pay
(individually) or you could come as a group to get a discount.

Do workshops/talks fill up quickly?

Yes, they do so hurry if you
want to book.

How much time does it take to organise the festival?

It’s an ongoing project and
I’m already thinking of next year!

The dates for this year and possibly next.

18 to 27 November in 2016. The
next one should also be the last week in November.

Elaine Roberts is a member of the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme
and is currently working on a family saga set in the1800s. She has sold short
stories worldwide and enjoys attending RNA events such as the London chapter
and our annual conference. Elaine is a great fan of writing retreats either
week long by the sea with friends or one-day retreats with fellow writers in
her home town of Dartford. Elaine runs a writing blog along with writer,
Francesca Capaldi Burgess called WriteMindWritePlace.

Thank you Elaine and Geraldine. The Folkestone Book Festival certainly looks interesting!If you would like to write for the RNA blog please contact the tram on elaineeverest@aol.com

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Today we welcome Christie Barlow to the blog. her route to publication reads like a writer's dream.

Sometimes I have
to pinch myself that in less than twoyears, I
have four books published and working on my fifth! For much of my adult life, I
had spent dedicated to the care of my children, but

then there’s nothing like
one’s 40th birthday to shake things up a bit! A couple of years ago,
we were discussing their career options one afternoon and I blurted out that
I’d always wanted to write a book. Wanting to prove to them that you really can
do whatever you set your mind to, I knew I had to follow through with my
statement. But the dilemma was, what would I write about? There is an old adage
that says ‘write what you know’, and I certainly know how to be a mother. Hence
the idea for A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother was born.

I began to write
every afternoon, along with the support of my trusty side-kick Woody, (and a
few packets of Haribos) and a year later, I self-published. I will always
remember that proud moment when I showed my children the finished product – a
book that had MY name on the cover. Simply self-publishing my book was not the
end of it though, – I knew that a strong Social Media presence would be
necessary to promote it – and sure enough, it circulated quickly and became the
talk of the town. Within a few months, this book I wrote to prove a point
became an Amazon bestseller in the UK and the USA.

I am now a
full-time author, signed with an agent, and have a book deal with publishers
Bookouture. I’m in the midst of writing my 5th book which will be
released in 2017.

My characters
are purely fictional and contain a pinch of humour as well as some romantic
interludes. I’d say it takes me about 5 months to write a book, and often the
storyline takes me in a slightly different direction that I had originally
planned! For the last couple of books, I’ve taken part in a charity auction
where people can bid to have their name as one of my characters. This has been
very rewarding as I’ve seen how much this means to people, particularly Ann
Sandeman, a cancer sufferer, who was one of the main characters in Lizzie’s
Christmas Escape.

Yes, you may
find reference to some of my loves in these books (chickens, music festivals
and Gary Barlow) but that is where the similarities end – I promise! I really
enjoy creating my characters and writing stories that bring pleasure to
readers. My novels are light-hearted but often have a serious story-line
running through them. I draw from my own experiences and memories. Writing is a
lonely occupation – that’s why Woody is so important to my sanity. We’ll often
start the day ambling across the fields to clear my head and then get settled
at the computer with numerous cups of tea to keep me company.

Christie
lives in Staffs with her 4 children, husband and her mad cocker-spaniel, Woody.
Her days, when not writing, include managing her little mini-zoo which includes
horses and chickens. She is also a piano teacher and has a number of students.

Christie’s
first novel was self-published in 2014 and quickly became an Amazon bestseller.
While writing the sequel to ‘A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother’, Christie
was signed by agent Madeleine Milburn and signed to publishers Bookouture for a
four-book deal. Thus followed ‘The Misadventures of a Playground Mother’ in 2015,
Kitty’s Countryside Dream in February 2016 and her latest, ‘Lizzie’s Christmas
Escape’, out on 21st October 2016.

Christie
spends a lot of time, when not writing, to supporting charities. She is an ambassador
for The Zuri Project Uganda, and will be travelling to Uganda early next year
to see how the funds raised are being implemented.

Thank you Christie. You are certainly
living the dream of a successful author. Many thank for visiting the RNA blog
and good luck with your next book.

Would you like to be featured on the RNA blog? Contact the team on
elaineeverest@aol.com

Monday, September 26, 2016

Welcome to the
first in our series, Chatting with Publishers. Today Natalie Kleinman
interviews Kate Bradley, Senior Commissioning Editor at Harper Fiction, who was kind enough to answer her questions. So, for
all you writers who would like an insight into another side of the industry,
here it is.

Can you tell us something
about your journey to your present job?

I’ve been really lucky to have a second career as an editor. I
worked in retail and direct mail bookselling for many years, picking up valuable experience about readers; what people buy and why. It’s all helped me as a commissioning editor – I always think
about who the end consumer is when I’m acquiring a new novel or writer.

What is a typical day like
as a busy editor – if there is such a thing as a typical day?

Yes, there is definitely such a thing as a typical day – it’s
characterised by editing and publishing mostly. Editing is where you work with
an author to help make their book as good as possible; we can do umpteen edits
before the book is ready for the world. Publishing is really the strategic and
tactical process of getting people to buy the book; it’s about the jacket design
working with the copy to make the book appealing to potential readers; using social
media to reach out directly to consumers; working with our Sales and Marketing
teams to engage retailers; all of this is often the hard graft; editors love
editing and sometimes find it hard to stop!

Have you ever wanted to
write a book?

Occasionally, but I know I’m best at helping writers to realise
their ideas and to get their brilliant stories down on paper (or laptop!).

When not surrounded by
books in your job what do you like to read for leisure?

Books about the sea.

What are you looking for at
present?

The next big thing! Honestly, I just really like books that take
me on an emotional journey, whether that be historical or contemporary.

If you receive a submission
that is not a genre you handle, do you pass it to another editor in your
company?

Yes, always. I’ll often have a read too, even it if isn’t an area
I handle. It’s good to see what’s out there and all of the editors at Harper
work very closely together, we read each other’s book all of the time and share
the things we’ve loved.

Does your company
accept un-agented submissions?

No, we’d be deluged. Better that agents do some of that ground
work for us, it’s what they’re really good at; sifting for gold – we’re the
polishers.

Do you have a crystal ball?
What do you feel will be then next 'big thing’?'

If I knew that…at the moment, our genre is very volatile and
anything can happen. One thing’s for sure, readers will always want books that
speak to the heart, but perhaps with books that subvert the idea of the
traditional heroine.

If you have one piece of
advice to give to anyone submitting a manuscript, what would it be?

Write a very brief introductory letter; no life stories! Make what
you send as good as it can be – work tirelessly on it. Be patient and take the
feedback you are offered positively; it will all help you to hone your craft.

Thank you for answering my
questions, Kate, and for giving our readers so much helpful information.

About Natalie:

Natalie Kleinman writes contemporary and
historical romance novels and has thrown a bit of a mystery into the mix in her
current wip. She is accumulating a nice collection of Regency works to help
with her research. You can follow her blog at http://nataliekleinman.blogspot.co.uk/

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Today on the RNA blog we are thrilled to have Karen King interviewing author Juliet Greenwood about her writing life and latest novel The White Camellia. Huge thanks to Karen for asking so many interesting questions and to Juliet for allowing us to take a glimpse into her world.

Your new book, The White Camellia, is published today, 15th
September. Can you tell us something about it?

The novel is set around a ladies’ tearoom
in Covent Garden in 1909 called ‘The White Camellia’, and a dilapidated old mansion
in Cornwall. It’s about a woman who has taken the perfect revenge on the family
who destroyed her own – but revenge is never that simple, and now she must find
a way of living with herself and the consequences of what she has done. There’s
love, mystery and danger, and a Cornish mine promising riches, but with a
terrible secret held in its depths…

I see you write historical
novels, what is the most interesting fact you’ve discovered during your
research?

Definitely the revolutionary role of
ladies’ tearooms in the fight not only for the vote, but also for so many of
the rights for education, work and independence that we take for granted – and the
freedom they gave by providing the first public loos for women! (it really is
the little things that count)

How much planning do you do
before you start to write?

My stories always contain a mystery, with
plenty of twists and turns, and intertwined lives along the way. They are also
set against a historical background, so I need to make sure the story doesn’t
clash with any historical events.This
means I need to do quite a bit of planning before I start. But I don’t like to
be rigid, because so much can change once the characters start to take on a
life of their own, and so many new possibilities appear. I also don’t want
anyone to guess – so I stay open to any fiendish twists that might appear!

Do you work in long-hand first
or write straight onto the computer?

When I first start a book, I start
long-hand for the first few pages. It’s my way of finding myself in. It means I
don’t go in cold when I start on the computer – there’s nothing like the stare
of the blank screen! Once I start, however, I type straight onto my ancient Mac
laptop, which I love, and is far too creaky for anything else. I save
everything in a paranoid fashion, I’m terrifying of every machine I own
crashing. I write straight through the first draft without stopping. Characters
appear out of thin air, vanish, and change sex with abandon. It’s getting the
bones down and getting to know the characters – there are always several
further drafts to go until the story goes to my editor, and the final refining
work begins.

How important do you think it
is to have an agent?

I think agents are very important. They
negotiate with the market, have their fingers on the pulse, and are also the
first line of the editing process. When you are starting out, however, there
are plenty of magazines and publishers who don’t require an agent, which is a
good way of developing yourself as a writer, finding your niche, and giving
yourself a chance to become an attractive client. Most writers are in this for
the long haul, very few are an instant success. Like wine, the mature ones are
the best!

Facebook or Twitter? Which is
your preferred promotion tool?

I love Facebook for the friendships and the
sense of community, and because I’m always taking plenty of photographs it
great to share. At the same time I enjoy the quick-fire conversations of
Twitter, which can be great fun, and I find it’s possible to have a much wider
reach – very important when you have a small publisher.

How do you relax when not
writing?

I live amongst the beautiful mountains of
Snowdonia, so I love walking my dog in the hills and on the beaches – and
meeting friends for afternoon tea within the shadow of a medieval castle or so,
of course! I also have a large garden, with a polytunnel holding a grapevine. I
love gardening – and also letting it grow wild and sitting amongst the
lavender, deep in a book.

What’s next for author, Juliet Greenwood?

I’m finishing my next book, set in the
grimy underworld of Victorian London, and there’s also another brewing, so
there’s lots of exciting research planned – but that’s top secret!

Watch this
space …

The White Camellia

1909. Cornwall. Her family
ruined, Bea is forced to leave Tressillion House, and self-made businesswoman
Sybil moves in. Owning Tressillion is Sybil’s triumph
— but now what? As the house casts its spell over her, as she starts to make
friends in the village despite herself, will Sybil be able to build a new life
here, or will hatred always rule her heart?

Bea finds herself in London,
responsible for her mother and sister’s security. Her only hope is to marry Jonathon,
the new heir. Desperate for options, she stumbles into the White Camellia
tearoom, a gathering place for the growing suffrage movement. For Bea it’s
life-changing, can she pursue her ambition if it will heap further scandal on
the family? Will she risk arrest or worse? When those very dangers send Bea and
her White Camellia friends back to Cornwall, the two women must finally
confront each other and Tressillion’s long buried secrets.

About Juliet Greenwood

Juliet Greenwood is a UK
historical novelist published by Honno Press. Her books are set in Cornwall,
London and Wales in Victorian and Edwardian times, reaching #4 in the UK Amazon
Kindle store. Juliet lives in a traditional cottage in Snowdonia and has a
passion for history, in particular the experiences of women, which are often
overlooked or forgotten. She loves gardening and walking, and exploring the
upstairs and downstairs of old country houses.

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Romantic Novelists' Association

We work to enhance and promote the various types of romantic and historical fiction, to encourage good writing in all its many varieties, to learn more about our craft and help readers enjoy it.

Romantic Fiction covers an enormous range, from short stories through category romance and much of women's fiction, to the classics. The nature of romantic fiction means that most of these novels are written and read by women. The RNA, however, boasts a number of very successful male authors amongst their membership.